From August 30th until September 16 of the year 2017, Hurricane Irma was the center of the world’s attention. People argued about the cause of the huge and catastrophic category 5 hurricane and who was exactly responsible for it and for the consequences it left behind. Scientists argued that it was simply people neglecting the fact that global warming is here and that they should start caring for their planet. Whatever the reason was, the number of fatalities was 132 and the estimated damage cost was about $62.87 billion dollars (Wikipedia). These big digits left people wondering how such a natural disaster could damage so many properties and structures in the era of all this brand new technology. The cause and the effects of the hurricane left us all wondering how such a strong weather system could be formed and if there could be a category 6 hurricane. We can’t just sit and watch the news while all the flora & fauna on our Earth are getting destroyed because we don’t realize what global warming is doing to our planet until it’s too late.

Approximately 7 days after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, a new hurricane was forming. As many imagined and feared the catastrophe that would strike our planet if a category 5 hurricane developed and made landfall, several meteorologists put their own theories of the hurricane's path on the social media platforms and news. When the hurricane reached category 5 and was very close to the Dominican Republic, the emergency alarm went off in Florida and the locations close to it. Gas and water-packs disappeared out of every store in the city and the gas lines became longer and longer. The evacuation was so big and fast the government dismissed the pay toll so that people could evacuate faster. The governor held an emergency meeting stating that everyone should evacuate because they won’t be able to go out and save anyone while the hurricane is out. Many Floridians didn’t take the warning seriously while the hurricane continued developing. When it struck Barbuda and when all the contacts were cut off from the small island, the real panic began.

An example of the panic from the whole storm experience is from one of the many families affected by the hurricane. The people affected were the grandparents of one of my friends. He said his grandparents filled up trash bags with all of their valuables and things in the house and then put the trash bags in their attic. They prepared their bags in case of instant evacuation and their car was ready for them to evacuate at any moment. However, even though they could hear the hard wind through their walls and covered windows, they didn’t go into a safe room or evacuated. Their experience on the whole situation was pretty terrifying, worrying and overwhelming because they couldn’t tell when exactly the hurricane would arrive. His grandparents were so overwhelmed by the news on how strong the hurricane was that they thought their roof was going to fly off and that their only home would get flooded. Unfortunately, they lost their power for a long time but their house remained dry and their roof was still sealed when the storm was over.

When the governor declared the hurricane was officially over and downgraded to a tropical storm, many feared the consequences it left behind. As the number of fatalities rose, the fear grew in the eyes of all the people affected. The total death toll was 132 people (Wikipedia). Thousands of homes destroyed. Millions left without food, water, and power. The media declaring it will take days before we know how much it will cost us in total and how many paradise islands were destroyed in the pathway. Several videos of the hurricane consequences on the municipality and homes uploaded. Many were left wondering if the natural disaster they were impacted by will be the costliest ever. Several islands in the Caribbean were decimated and all of their contact cut off from the rest of the world. The number of effects Irma left behind are countless and the people struck by were clueless on what to do next and how to survive.

After three hurricanes that struck our planet, Irma placed itself as the 4th hurricane of the season and the deadliest hurricane of the year. Plenty of people were left shaken and wondering how such a strong hurricane could be formed in the ocean. After days of countless articles on the devastation and the impact the hurricane left behind, theories about cause of the hurricane formed. Scientists all over the world suggested that global warming was the reason why the hurricane was so strong. Several theories on how global warming could have impacted the hurricane were portrayed, impacting people to raise an awareness of how the greenhouse gases are making these hurricanes so powerful (Griffin).